


Leaving the Nest

by Dominique_Moreau



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bat Family, Birdflash - Freeform, Codependency, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Multi, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-09 14:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7806325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dominique_Moreau/pseuds/Dominique_Moreau
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an assassin saves Wally from drowning in a pool during a mission Wally is intrigued and slightly confused. When the same assassin later kidnaps Wally and demands he escort him and his five year old little brother to a fair Wally spends a few seconds trying to comprehend what’s happening before just deciding to go with the flow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so happy to find inspiration to write after so long not writing. For anyone waiting on my Sherlock fic on AO3, I’m sorry but it’s almost certainly dead. At first I was just going to rework it after getting a thoughtful comment of constructive criticism but along the way I lost interest in it and then lost my interest in the fandoms involved and then eventual stopped writing altogether. I’ve still been coming up with a lot of ideas but this is the first I’ve actually gotten myself to sit down and turn into a story instead of just a bunch of notes typed up on my phone. As a warning, my knowledge of comic canon is less than what many would consider to be basic knowledge. While I’ve watched all of Young Justice and some of the Justice League & Justice League Unlimited cartoons and watched a few of the animated films and the live action films, I’ve unfortunately never had the pleasure of reading any of the comics. When I actually become financially stable I’ll probably pick up some of the storylines I’ve heard about and want to read but until then my knowledge comes from what I can find online and what I’ve read in fanfiction. Granted, I’ve picked up a lot of knowledge and am comfortable enough in my familiarity of the Young Justice fandom to feel confident writing in in the YJ continuity but I may still make some faux pas due to ignorance and if I do please correct me. Some of the characters I’m working with I’ve only experienced through other people’s fanfics so I very well may end up taking a wrong turn due to ignorance and I know the alternate continuity only allows for so much leeway. I really want to do the characters due justice and I can’t fix something I don’t know is wrong. Beyond that I do want to say that so far I am very happy with how this fic is coming out, although I admit the prologue is probably a little rough due to how little familiarity I have with Talia. My primary experience with her comes from watching the Son of Batman animated movie and I know I’m portraying her differently here than how she was portrayed in that movie. However, beyond the impact her existence, her actions in this prologue and her actions off screen have on certain other characters that are major features of the story she herself shouldn’t be a major feature in the rest of the story. I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being her only on screen appearance. Despite writing a character I am utterly unfamiliar with I do still think the prologue came out well and am happy enough with it.
> 
> I currently have a couple chapters already completed, fully written and revised, that I plan to post soon after this. I can’t promise a steady update schedule as college means I can’t always write when I want to. I am also limited to only being able to post certain times of the day which in turn depends on the day. Any delays from the last issue would delay things a couple weeks at the most and as little as one day at the least. It will not cause month long delays. Those are caused by problems with the Author and the Author’s classwork and are much harder to fix or work around.
> 
> The words in bolded italics come from the scene in the episode Performance where Robin is remembering back to his family’s act.

Talia al Ghul took her seat near the back of the large colorful big top that housed Haly’s Circus’ Big Show. She’s heard rumors of the star act including a boy with exactly the kind of skills she’s been searching for. As she watched the other patrons enter the tent she did not miss it when her Beloved entered the tent and took a seat near the front. She smiled.

 _Only the best for Bruce Wayne_.

Talia was glad that she chose a spot out of sight so she could avoid being noticed. She could not help but watch Bruce while they waited for the show to start. She briefly felt a faint pang of guilt at what she had done to him but put it out of her mind and turned her attention to the stage. The show was about to start.

One by one each act came on stage and performed. Hardly any of them managed to impress Talia. She occasionally glanced at her Beloved when the acts bored her too much. Eventually the act she had come to see was announced.

**_“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Flying Graysons!”_ **

The boy was everything she’d heard him to be. He practically flew in the air with his parents on the trapeze. Talia was impressed by the entire family’s mastery over their own bodies. Their trust in their skill and in one another showed in the fearless flips and summersaults they performed while soaring through the air. The youngest Grayson was exactly what she needed. She had only started making preliminary plans for covertly eliminating the boy’s parents when the trapeze snapped and the two adult Graysons plummeted to their deaths as the boy watched their fall from above on one of the high platforms. Her Beloved was starting to look around so Talia discreetly slipped out of the tent before he could notice her presence. She would return for the boy when his disappearance would go relatively unnoticed.

֍֎֍֎

One good thing about the corruption rotting a city like Gotham is that a person could get almost anything by bribing the right people. Despite finding such uncouth methods unsavory Talia was not about to let personal preference get in the way of her acquiring the boy. A brief exchange and she found herself being led to the boy’s cell in Gotham’s Juvenile Detention Center. When she arrived the boy turned on his dirty cot to look at her. He had been in Juvie for a few weeks and was covered in bruises and cuts. His pitiful state would have sent a wave of sympathy through most anyone with a heart. Talia only saw how to use the boy’s predicament to get what she wanted and proceeded to do just that.

Talia slightly shifted the bundle in her arms and said, “I watched your act at the circus. You have my sympathies for your parents’ deaths.”

The boy glared at her and the expression reminded her slightly of her Beloved in its intensity.

Talia said, “I doubt your parents would have enjoy seeing you in a place like this, all cooped up and unable to fly. I was rather impressed by your skills. It would be a shame if you were to become unable to continue to improve them. I would be willing to take you in as long as you promise me one thing.”

The boy looked at her with a guarded expression and asked, “What do you want?”

Talia kneeled down to his level and shifted the bundle in her arms so that the boy could see the young infant she carried. The infant had black hair and looked up at the boy with innocent steel blue eyes. The boy was caught off guard as he stared at the young infant and missed Talia’s brief smile of victory.

Talia said, “In exchange for becoming my ward it would be your duty to watch after my son Damian. He would be your little brother and require your protection and loyalty.”

The boy continued looking at her son and said, “I promise.”

The next day Bruce Wayne came to take Richard Grayson as his ward only to find him gone. Batman investigated but the trail grew cold at a few dead guards.

֍֎֍֎

Dick Grayson had only been with the League of Shadows for a few days before he began to have doubts. As a highly intelligent boy Dick quickly figured out that he had signed on to be an assassin. Although he was treated well and had not yet been forced kill he probably would have ran away after the first week if it had not been for his little brother, Damian. With Talia’s cold and distant parenting and Bruce unaware of his son’s existence, Damian’s care most often fell to Dick who had already come to see the baby as his little brother. So Dick trained and allowed himself to be molded into the Robin that the Shadows wanted for the sake of the little brother who needed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the fic shouldn’t be as completely dead serious or dark as this. It will have its serious and dark moments but should be mostly light and adorable and fluffy and fuzzy. Future chapters are also unlikely to be this short. The last one I wrote actually ended up on the longest-chapter-I’ve-ever-freaking-written-I-swear side. IMPORTANT: I have what I’m doing for the first three chapters after this decided but after that I’m open to requests. Each chapter corresponds to an episode that it takes place around the time of and while I have what I’m doing for some of the episodes I haven’t decided on what I’m going to do for a majority of them. The only exception to the one-chapter-per-episode thing is if I find the need to split up the events associated with an episode into multiple chapters due to sheer length (this is most like to happen with what I have planned for the episode Performance). I’m open to suggestions/requests on what you’d like to see. Requests don’t have to be episode specific. In fact I’m betting most of the chapters I don’t yet have completely planned out will have very little to do with the episodes they supposedly correspond to. Don’t let that stop you from asking for episode specific prompts. It just means I haven’t thought of ways to tie the events of the episodes in question into the story due to lack of relevance to the story arcs I’m focusing on. The episodes I already have covered or mostly covered are Infiltrator, Denial, Downtime, Revelation, Disordered, Secrets, Coldhearted, Insecurity, Performance, Usual Suspects and Auld Acquaintance. The rest of the season one episodes need ideas and I can see myself squeezing an idea or two into a select few of the ones I mentioned but don’t have completely worked out yet. If I end up using your idea/request for a chapter I will mention it in the Author’s Notes at the top of the corresponding chapter. I love all feedback with praise making me fuzzy happy and constructive criticism making me think so please tell me what you think.


	2. Infiltrator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said I already had a couple chapters written and revised? Well, some comments made me think and I ended up editing them some more. Some of the comments have already helped me figure out some of story and character arcs I want to put in. 
> 
> This story is cross posted to both my AO3 (Dominique_Moreau) and Fanfiction (Dominique Moreau) accounts. I will be posting chapters on both sites at the same time so the only real differences are cosmetic. On AO3 the chapter names match the episode name while on Fanfiction they are in a heading I put at the top of every chapter document. I use different line breaks on the two because Fanfiction deletes the pinwheel looking things from Word’s Armenian character symbols subset that I have on the document but AO3 actually leaves them in.
> 
> And this is the chapter where the boys have their first meeting. I am very happy with this chapter. 
> 
> Updates for this story will be very erratic. Computer Science and Math do not make for light workloads.
> 
> Any bolded Italics is dialogue taken directly from the episode.

Wally regained consciousness to some kid giving him mouth to mouth. The speedster coughed up the water in his lungs and only looked up in time for his still blurred vision to catch a glimpse of a black and dark red cape as his unknown rescuer fled out of the door. Soon after the mystery kid had left, M’gann floated in having sensed Wally’s unresponsiveness.

M’gann looked concerned and asked, “Wally, are you alright!”

Wally took a few seconds to catch his breath and said, “I’m fine. What’s going on?”

M’gann said, “Kaldur is fighting the assassin. How did she get past you?”

Wally shook his head and said, “No time right now. We have to go help Kaldur.”

The two teens entered the room that Kaldur was in and saw their new team member Artemis shoot at a green clad ninja assassin who in turn deftly blocked every arrow with her sword.

The assassin turned back to see M’gann and Wally and said, “ ** _Maybe a little too interesting._** ” Wally attempted to tackle the assassin just as she threw down a smoke bomb to aid her escape. Wally pulled his lunge into a somersault and his momentum caused him to then run into Artemis. As soon as he recovered Wally threw himself away from the archer and commented on the fact that the assassin had gone. His comment was immediately followed by Dr. Roquette complaining that the assassin had gotten away. Wally turned to Artemis and yelled blame at her for having let the assassin get past. Any further comments by Wally were interrupted by M’gann speaking up.

“ ** _That’s not really fair. I was outside, too_** ”

Wally responded, “ ** _Outside being distracted by her._** ”

M’gann said, “It’s still both our faults, Kid Flash. And I wasn’t the one Artemis was distracting.” M’gann gave Wally a stern look.

Artemis glared at Wally and said, “And where were you when that assassin snuck into the room with Kaldur and Dr. Roquette!?”

Wally angrily responded, “She knocked me out after getting past your perimeter!”

M’gann said, “I found him coming to in the room with the pool and then we rushed over here.”

Kaldur narrowed his eyes and said, “Kid Flash, the pool was not your post. Why did you not alert the team to whatever led you there?”

Wally looked contrite and responded, “Sorry, I saw a shadow and went to check it out without thinking. I guess I forgot about the link for a bit. I’m still not quite used to it.”

Artemis narrowed her eyes at Wally and said, “So the reason she got past you is because you screwed up!”

Wally glared at her and said, “At least I noticed her!”

Artemis was about to respond when Aqualad interrupted their bickering. “Enough! Now is not the time to argue. We should instead be figuring out what to do next.”

Wally glared at Artemis one last time before he walked away in anger and frustration. While M’gann went over to Artemis to reassure the archer Wally thought back to how the assassin had almost killed him and to the unknown kid that had saved him. Most of Wally’s anger at Artemis earlier had been due to the fear of having nearly died, though Wally was not self-aware enough to understand that was the real reason for his anger. Wally focused on the memory of deft hands, a masked face, black hair and a black and red cape as he tried to recall the young kid that saved him. Wally wondered why the kid was there. It never occurred to Wally to wonder why the kid would save him.

Wally was pulled from his thoughts by Aqualad telling them to focus. As Aqualad cautioned them that the assassin would be back Batgirl came through on their coms and told them that the Shadow’s target Star Labs was destroyed by the Fog. She informed them that the Shadows now had the facility’s cutting edge research at their disposal. She asked what their next move is.

Aqualad responded, “ ** _Rescan for that Fog. Find it. We’re moving the doctor._** ” The team proceeded to relocate.

֍֎֍֎

At another location M’gann was disguised as Dr. Roquette as Wally and Artemis posed as decoy guards in their trap for the assassin. From his position sitting on the desk Wally glared at Artemis who had been glaring at him for a few minutes. Aqualad scolded them for glaring. The Atlantian managed to send a message through the mind link that the assassins took the bait and to be ready a few minutes before the first assassin burst through the doors with an impressive display of acrobatics. Wally rolled off of the desk and landed in a crouch facing the assassin. Wally quickly took in the appearance of his opponent. The assassin was clad in a flexible bodysuit and wore a cape and domino mask. The assassin had short black hair and a slight dark tone to his skin that a tan alone wouldn’t explain. Tied to a black belt on the assassin’s waist was a scabbard containing a small katana. The katana’s hilt was a bright canary yellow. Although he carried no more visible weapons the assassin doubtlessly had many more hidden away on his person. The bodysuit was a dark crimson red with black gloves and boots. Partially obscured by the assassin’s cape was a black R in a circle over where the assassin’s heart would be. The cape itself was black with a dark crimson red underside that matched the color of the bodysuit. His domino mask was black with white lenses and had an odd almost bat-like shape.

The assassin also looked about twelve or thirteen years old.

Wally had barely had time to register that his opponent was even younger than he himself was before he was forced to dodge a flash of canary yellow that on second glance proved to be a brightly colored shuriken. Wally recovered immediately and the two soon found themselves engaged in an intense fight. Even with his speed and practice in using his own momentum to his advantage Wally found himself pressed to keep up with the frankly impossible acrobatics the kid relied on in a fight. Wally swore that the kid had somehow found some way to completely ignore gravity. The kid’s moves seemed more like he was flying through the air than performing acrobatics. The kid was also clearly enjoying every second of it if his wide grin was any indication. Wally was forced to use his speed to just keep up with the kid. Wally dodged a high kick and countered with a punch which the kid then grabbed before contorting himself into a position that allowed the kid to counter his counter with a kick to the side of the speedster’s knee. Despite himself Wally was enjoying the fight. Wally dodged another kick as he heard Artemis tell the disguised M’gann to not stop working.

Shortly after the fight began he heard a shout from above.

“ ** _Martian’s here. It’s now or never._** ”

Wally wasn’t prepared when his opponent then immediately _used him as a springboard_ before throwing a bright yellow shuriken at the table M’gann had floated in front of herself. The kid fluidly returned to his fight with Wally as the shuriken exploded moments after hitting its target. The table was obliterated by the explosion leaving M’gann open to the masked green clad ninja assassin. The fight with the kid required Wally’s full concentration so he had not even noticed when the other assassin advanced unimpeded on M’gann. Wally jumped over a kick as he heard the green clad assassin that they’d been duped. He barely registered the conversation between M’gann and the other assassins as the kid had just did another of his weird contortions around Wally’s body to get under the speedster’s guard and land another blow. Wally was engrossed enough in the fight that when Artemis ordered him to take the rest down he ignored her in favor of focusing on the fight. Wally dodged a kick to his head and landed a punch to the kid’s side. The kid used the momentum from the hit to help him go into a backflip that resulted in his feet hitting Wally under the chin. Wally heard M’gann over the mind link as he recovered from the blow.

_“ **Kid Flash, we need to end this now** ”_

Wally grunted as he blocked an aerial kick to his face.

_“I’d love to Beautiful but I’m barely holding my own here!”_

Wally grabbed the kid’s foot and threw him. The kid flipped in midair and landed gracefully on his feet before he used a bench as a springboard to get himself in the air again. As the kid came at him with another kick Wally heard M’gann’s joyful cry of victory. She turned to the speedster to see her friend still locked in a fight.

“Kid Flash?”

“Go help Artemis and Kaldur. I’ll catch up after.” Wally dodged a kick to his head. M’gann nodded and floated off. The kid laughed.

“Are you sure you can take me by yourself KF?” The kid dodged a punch.

“Positive.” Wally sidestepped a kick.

“Really. Because you seem a little overwhelmed to me.” The kid backflipped and then vaulted into the air.

“I’d say I’m holding my own here.” Wally sprinted out of the way of a flying kick.

“Not really. I’m actually a bit underwhelmed here.” The kid twisted his body into a roll and threw a canary yellow shuriken at Wally. The kid had a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Hey, you’re overwhelmed and I’m underwhelmed. Why isn’t anyone ever just whelmed?” Wally ducked out of the way of the shuriken.

“What?” The kid launched himself off of a bench.

“You aren’t feeling the aster here are you?” Wally blocked a flying kick.

“Aster?” The kid flipped over Wally.

“As in the opposite of disaster.” Wally landed a punch and sent the kid flying.

“I don’t think English works that way.” The kid twisted into the roll as he hit the ground.

“I don’t see why not. I mean—” The kid tilted his head slightly to the side. After a few seconds the kid then brought out a grappling hook and grappled his way over to the window that the assassin in green had entered through earlier. The kid’s cape fluttered behind him as he ascended to the window. He turned to Wally before leaving.

“Job’s done. Nice fight. Let’s do it again sometime, Wally.” The kid swept out of the window. The sight of the kid’s exit jogged something in Wally’s memory. It was the same sight Wally had seen when the kid who saved him from drowning had ran away after having brought him back with CPR. The kid assassin had saved his life and knew his identity. Wally had no idea how he should respond to that. He decided to put it out of mind for now as he sped away to rejoin the rest of his team.

֍֎֍֎

Robin ran silently through the woods towards his destination of an abandoned house. He carried a couple of plastic bags with him. Once he came upon the house he picked the lock on the door and slid inside. Once inside he made his way to the only other occupant, his young charge.

“Was the mission successful Grayson?” The five year old Damian asked his big brother and caretaker. Robin shook his head.

“We got most of the information but the Bat’s protégé and her team managed to stop us before we successfully hit the Wayne Tech facility.” Robin thought Damian looked slightly prideful at that. The only company they had failed to get at was his father’s after all. It was not far-fetched that Damian would feel pride in his father at that.

It had not taken him long after becoming Talia’s ward for Robin to learn exactly who his little brother’s father was both in and out of costume. Back then it had just been one of the many things he had overheard during his first lessons in stealth. A year later he had learned that Talia was only going to tell Damian his father’s identity after he defeated her in single combat. At the time this had confused Robin as Talia was always telling them family was one of the most important things in life. Then Ra’s had had the bright idea for the then ten year old Robin to prove himself by taking care of Damian on his own out in the real world for a few years. Talia hadn’t been very happy but had refused to defy her father. It was then Robin realized that Talia had wanted Damian to know but that Ra’s had ordered her to keep it secret. So, Robin had waited until Damian was four before telling him the truth. By that point Damian had been old enough to understand when Robin told him that he had to keep the fact he knew from Talia so she would not have to punish them for doing what she wanted at the expense of Ra’s orders. Damian hadn’t had to deal with that yet, though, since they hadn’t seen Talia in over a year.

“Did you kill anyone?” Damian looked hesitant as asked the question. Robin liked how, despite Damian’s best efforts, the five year old could not conceal his emotions at all, at least not from him. Robin knew why Damian was uncomfortable asking him that question. His brother knew how much Robin wasn’t looking forward to making his first kill.

“No. All in all I’d say it went as asterous as it could have.” Robin smiled broadly as Damian scowled at him for his creative use of the English language. Robin thought Damian’s absolute seriousness was adorable at times. At other times Robin worked to get him to lighten up. He wondered if the seriousness was just the kid’s natural personality. His father was the Batman after all. There was every possibility of it being genetic.

Robin held up the plastic bags, “I brought back dinner for us. Chinese. I got you vegetable fried rice and vegetable egg rolls.” When he was four years old Damian had decided to become a vegetarian after an incident that Robin really didn’t like to think about.

“-tt- Give me my food Grayson.” Robin obediently handed over the food and the two settled in to having a pleasant dinner together. Robin told Damian about the mission. Damian listened with rapt attention as Robin gave him a blow by blow account of his fight with Kid Flash. Once they were done eating Robin set up a space for him to train Damian. Both boys were used to the routine by now and lost themselves in the joy of sparring. Once they were done both boys were out of breath and covered in sweat.

As they lay to catch their breath Damian asked, “Why did you save Kid Flash from the pool?”

Robin looked uncomfortable as he answered, “I don’t know. Instinct I guess.”

“You need to work on that. If Mother ever found out you rescued the enemy she might do something drastic.” Damian tried to seem nonchalant but Robin could hear the worry in his brother’s voice. It wasn’t without merit. If Talia found out what Robin had done he’d be put through retraining again. He’d been through retraining many times, mostly when he was still new to the League and hadn’t yet learned how to remove his inadequacies. Over the years most of his failings had been corrected and he hadn’t been subjected to retraining since they had left the compound. This latest slip though only confirmed something that Robin had long suspected.

The sessions had never been able to train his discomfort with death out of him.

“I’m not going anywhere Dami.” Robin made sure to put as much conviction in his voice as he could as he reassured his little brother. Robin had been the only constant in Damian’s life for the past five years. Talia had always been gone more often than not even before Ra’s had sent them away. Damian has practically been raised by his trainers and Robin. Damian couldn’t lose Robin. Robin knew he was the same. Damian was all he had left. He wouldn’t let anything take his little brother away.

Not even his difficulties dealing with death.

“Good.” Robin felt Damian latch onto his waist. Robin then guided them over to the bathroom to wash up. After that was taken care of he led them to a bedroom. Damian’s arms were wrapped around Robin’s waist as Robin held his little brother in his arms as they fell asleep.

֍֎֍֎

Wally was lying in his bed awake. He couldn’t get the kid assassin out of his head. Wally couldn’t figure out why the kid had saved his life. He knew that this was a mystery that would bug him for a long time. He was eventually lulled to sleep and dreamt of sparring with a kid who defied gravity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much fun as writing this chapter was I’m glad to be getting away from closely following the canon material for a good long while. It’s annoying to have to constantly check the source material while writing scenes. It’s kinda what killed my first fic on AO3 as the writing became too much of a chore. Which is why I avoid doing that when I can now. This wasn’t so bad since I mainly put focus on what was different and mostly glossed over what was already in the show but I’m still glad to move on. Also, I want to note that Robin’s reasoning over why he should tell Damian about Bruce does not actually reflect reality. It’s only his interpretation of what he believes Talia would want, not what she actually would want.
> 
> So, next time the boys meet outside of a work setting and the relationship begins to develop. This will be a slow burn Birdflash so be prepared to wait for any actual romance. This was my first time writing an action sequence so I hope it came out okay. Again, all feedback welcome and please give me suggestions/requests for chapter ideas which I will begin pulling from starting with Chapter 4.


	3. Denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Slight Belated Warning Concerning Author’s Notes: I tend to ramble about my writing process in my author’s notes because I enjoy explaining my writing process for some reason. Don’t ask me why I enjoy it. I have no idea. I just do. I suspect I might just like explaining things. I’m just as likely to do the same rambling in responses to comments that ask about my writing process so if you ever want to ask I’d be more than happy to answer your questions in detail as long as said answers don’t include spoilers. Suffice to say I like talking/writing about my writing as just as much as I like doing the actual writing. While I promise to avoid outright spoilers in my author’s notes reading them may end up helping you figure out what I’m going to do anyway the same way foreshadowing might. You’d still probably have to think about it some first but I’m sure It’d be possible to use the hints I leave to spoil something I might have not have even written yet. I’m including this warning in this author’s note because I mention that I chose an unnamed plot point to happen at a certain named point because it fit at certain named point. I have a feeling that thinking about this enough could lead someone to figure out what unnamed plot point is. However, this warning is still applicable to all of my author’s notes. So, if something like that bothers you please try to skip my author’s notes until you’ve finished the story. On with the actual Author’s Note!
> 
> I can’t believe this is over 8000 words. How did I write this much? Try not to expect this many words out of me for one chapter too often as I doubt every chapter will be this long. I think the main reason it’s so large is because it is essentially plot heavy, or as close as this story gets to plot heavy anyway. (The idea of this fic as a mostly nice fluffy story with bits and spurts of plot here and there may all just be a delusion the Author is suffering from or it might be actually be what the story ends up being by the end. Only time can tell. Until then humor the Author. Or not. Whichever you’d prefer.) While the previous parts set up the general background and setting for the verse the story takes place in, this chapter is basically set up for the story’s premise, characters and the majority of my pre-planned story arcs. Those arcs are part of the reason that most of the stories I have covered are the episodes at the beginning and the end of the season. I came into this knowing how I wanted to start it and how I wanted to end it but have no idea what I should do in the middle on the way there. I even planned out a good deal of the parts near the end first with the very first parts planned being what happens around the episodes Coldhearted and Performance and the plan for Coldhearted was only put for that episode because certain aspects of that episode made it ideal for what I needed to happen. Performance was even my original end point before I decided to extend it to the episodes after it and simply cover the entire season. However, even though I won’t change the core of those chapters I won’t go and write them ahead of the rest because what happens in these earlier part have the possibility to change some of the details. This has already happened to my plan for Performance as an idea I came up with in an earlier part ended up adding a new major aspect to what happens at that point even though the original major plot points I planned to have happen there have not changed. Even the amount of Episodes I’ve made plans for without outside input has changed (i.e. they increased in number). Some things also end up changing completely. My original idea was to make Damian an adorable jealous brat competing with Wally for Robin’s attention. Then this chapter happened and those plans crashed and burned (you’ll see what I mean once you read it, suffice to say Damian had other ideas). I had never actually typed my idea about Damian being jealous into my notes, though, which also meant I wasn’t particularly attached to the idea to begin so it was easy for me to discard or forget it. I’m also trying to micromanage my fics less. This story is my first real go at not completely micromanaging. It seems to be working better than the micromanaging seeing as this story actually got beyond the notes stage.

It wasn’t easy living on your own as a thirteen and five year old, Robin mused. There was always someone asking where your parents were and trying to force you into the system when they found out the truth. While better than the various people that have tried to take advantage of the pair the ones that cared were infinitely more difficult to deal with. Ra’s had forced them out on their own once Robin had turned ten, however, and he’d been forced to learn quite a few tricks to keep him and Dami under the radar in a way that still allowed him to procure what they needed to live. If that meant that Robin would occasionally have to knock out and kidnap an adult so he could pass them off as his caretaker when getting food or that he had to be rather creative with their living arrangements or that they had to steal cars and stow away on trains to travel from place to place then so be it. It was all for Damian and Robin would do anything for his little brother.

So far Robin’s had to sacrifice a good deal of normality in the effort of juggling their life. As a consequence any chance Robin had at giving Dami a semi-normal childhood experience was something Robin would fight tooth and nail to make happen. So, when Robin heard about a fair in Central City he found them a train with the full intent to do anything that would give Damian a nice day at the fair. His brother was five now and it was about time he went to his first fair. It was lucky that the Martian girl had called out Kid Flash’s real name after Robin had saved the young hero as otherwise he would have had to plan on threatening some stranger to play chaperone or go after Kid Flash while he was in costume. Either situation would have probably ended in disaster, heavy on the ‘dis’. However, since Robin had learned Kid Flash’s name and had then found his identity with only a little research he instead was faced with the far simpler task of kidnapping one Wally West out of his bed. If Robin were the type to put stock in fate and destiny he’d have said taking Dami to this fair was meant to be. However, Robin had stopped believing in such things when he became an assassin so instead he said a silent mental thanks to the Martian girl for slipping up in the field, a thanks that Robin was reasonably sure said Martian was too far away to hear, and began to plan the abduction of one Wally West while he and Dami rode on the train hidden in the baggage car.

“Why did we leave this time Grayson? I didn’t think anyone had noticed us yet.” Robin was startled out of his thoughts by his brother’s question. Robin smiled at his brother’s adorable scowl and cheerfully answered his brother.

“You’re right that we hadn’t been noticed yet, but I saw that there was a fair in Central City and thought it was time you’d had your first trip to a fairground. It’ll be totally asterous!” Even as he scowled at the non-word, Dami’s expression softened slightly which Robin knew meant his brother was deeply touched by his actions. Damian tended to get like that whenever Robin made an effort to make Dami happy. It was one of the reasons Robin was so obsessed in giving Dami as many normal childhood experiences as he could. After a few moments Damian’s expression became ever so slightly strained and Robin knew his brother had just remembered that their situation as a couple of kid vagabonds would complicate the logistics of such an outing. Luckily Robin already had a plan he was reasonably sure was fool proof. Reassuring his brother they’d get their day at the fair was something he could most certainly do.

֍֎֍֎

Damian leaned on a piece of luggage as he contemplated the possibility of a day at the fair with his brother Grayson. It was almost too good to be a real possibility. However, Damian doubted his brother would move them like this if he hadn’t already thought of an idea on how to make it a reality. Though Grayson was the only person to have never let him down Damian could not help his need to know for sure.

“Have you thought of how we’re going to pass without suspicion Grayson? I don’t think an outing being escorted by some petrified peasant you’ve threatened into compliance would be the ideal experience.” Grayson’s expression became downright devious at this question and Damian knew that not only did his brother already know exactly how he’d rectify the problem but also that the solution was going to be enjoyable in its own right. Or it would get them in some sort of trouble. Or both. It was always hard to tell when it came to Grayson.

“Central City is Kid Flash’s territory. I figure the young hero should feel honor bound to keep an eye on an assassin in his territory.” Grayson was practically bouncing with mirthful energy. Damian liked it when his brother was like this. Damian thought that this was how Grayson may have once acted back before his parents’ deaths, getting locked up in juvie and getting picked by Mother to be molded into Damian’s most trusted ally.

“May I help kidnap him? It would be a good opportunity to test out the stealth skills you’ve taught me in a non-deadly scenario.” Grayson’s smile dimmed slightly at the reminder of their future and Damian wished he hadn’t mentioned it. Damian often hated what the thought of their future careers did to Grayson’s mood. Seeing how it affected Grayson made Damian no longer really want his birthright as an al Ghul and Grandfather’s heir. It wasn’t like they had a choice in the matter, though, so Damian was forced to watch as their destinies tormented his brother.

“Sure. You could use the field experience. You will need to be able to stay traught in the field. Want to help plan how we’re going to get him?” Damian gave a reserved nod in answer and the two launched into a planning session on how to break into the West residence. Before they had boarded the train Grayson had made sure to print out the building’s blueprints and his research into the Wests’ home security system so the brothers knew what they were up against. Once they’d finished forming a good solid plan Grayson pulled Damian into a game of trying to come up with the most ridiculous plan to get in. Damian allowed Grayson to easily pull him in the childish thought exercise because he liked how his participation made Grayson act lighter and less broody. By the time they arrived at Central City Damian was smiling at his brother with adoration as Grayson was in the middle of a cackling laughing fit caused by Damian’s idea for them to impersonate Father and claim that escorting two kids to the fair was an absolutely vital mission requiring the upmost secrecy that only Wally was cleared to carry out.

When they felt the train pull into the station and stop Grayson came back to himself and Damian schooled his expression back to the usual scowl. The boys immediately grabbed their belongings and skillfully avoided detection as they left the train and headed to whatever shelter Grayson had picked out for them beforehand. With the ease and efficiency of having done it a million times before the brothers melted into the shadows of the night.

֍֎֍֎

Wally was not happy when he found himself waking up in what was most definitely _not_ his bed where he had fallen asleep last night. He snapped into awareness at the potentially dangerous situation he was in. Wally quickly found that he was tied up and restrained but knew that if he moved just right he could get himself into a seated position. He maneuvered himself upright and found himself greeted by the sight of two young boys in normal looking clothing. He took in his surroundings of what seemed to be a rundown shack, which he noted showed distinct signs of habitation, before he turned to study his current company. Both boys had black hair, skin that was just a bit too dark to be explained by being just from a tan, and blue eyes. The older of the two boys looked to be about twelve or thirteen and his eyes were a bright vibrant blue. Wally felt like he should recognize him but knew he’d never forget someone with the kid’s eyes. The older boy looked happy and was absolutely beaming at Wally. The younger boy looked to be about five and had eyes that were a sharp steely blue. The kid had a kind of scowl on his face that for some reason reminded Wally of Batman. Wally also noted that beyond the scowl, which Wally suspected might be the kid’s default expression, the kid had a smug air of being quite pleased with himself. Most important, however, was that both of the kids were neither scared nor tied up. As much as he didn’t want to admit it Wally had to conclude that the two kids had kidnapped and tied him up. He hoped Uncle Barry, or worse Artemis, never found out about this. He didn’t think he’d ever live it down. Wally steeled himself before addressing his kidnappers.

“Why did you kidnap me?” The older boy’s smile seemed to grow impossibly wider at the question while the younger boy had no visible reaction whatsoever. It wasn’t long before the older boy decided to answer his question.

“I heard there was a fair in Central City and, being the good older brother I am, I decided to plan to spend a day there with my little brother. He’s never been to a fair before, something I plan to fix. We’d go by ourselves but in our experience if we don’t have someone older with us then everyone starts asking where our parents are and why two young boys like us are out all alone and then we need to move to a new town before the locals try to force us into the system. So, I figured a dashing hero like yourself would be the perfect escort for us.” The older boy beams at Wally while the speedster processed what he had just heard.

It hadn’t even been a second before Wally looked at the two boys incredulously and said, “Did you two seriously kidnap me just to force me to take you to a fair!?” Wally noticed the younger boy look at him with distain. It was a very subtle change from his normal scowl but one Wally noticed nonetheless.

“-tt- You should feel honored my brother felt you were the best choice for the task of escorting us. Although, even I am forced to admit you are certainly preferable to using some cowering civilian as our escort instead and to facing the consequences being unaccompanied would invite.” Wally decided that the younger boy was way too self-important and formal, especially for someone his age. Five year olds should not sound like that. Actually, no one should sound like that. In fact, the five year old sounded way too much like a supervillain-in-training to be anything but a big warning bell for Wally.

The older kid gave Wally an earnestly eager expression that reminded Wally of a puppy and said, “C’mon KF it’ll be fun. We’re paying for all three tickets so it’s like you get a free day at the fair with a couple of tourists and while you’re there to keep an eye on us you know for a fact that we are not out kidnapping anyone else or causing any other mayhem in your city.” It took less of a second for Wally to register _exactly_ what the kid had just said. The realization caused Wally to turn pale.

“What did you just call me?” The younger boy gave him an expression that implied Wally was being dense just to personally insult him. Wally knew that Batman has often sported the same expression whenever the Dark Knight felt his fellow heroes were, in the Bat’s opinion, being particularly idiotic. Wally was feeling very uncomfortable with how much a five year old was reminding of Batman.

“Yes, we are aware that Wally West is the secret identity of Kid Flash. It was not difficult for my brother to figure out after your last encounter.” Wally took a brief break from his minor panic to take a more thorough look at the older boy. Suddenly it hit him.

“You’re that assassin from the mission with the Fog! How did you figure out who I am!?” This was not good. Wally’s identity was known by an _assassin_. He would have preferred to have been found out by Captain Cold than be in the situation he found himself. Uncle Barry was going to kill him.

_Oh God, what if they also knew about Uncle Barry!?_

The assassin seemed to realize how much Wally was freaking out and started trying to sooth and reassure him. Wally felt a hand rub his back as the assassin spoke.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I promise we won’t use our knowledge for anything bad! Get traught. We won’t use your identity against you. You and your family are safe, including your Uncle Flash. We won’t go after you and I’ve never told anyone else who you are except for my brother here. Your identity is safe with us, right Damian?” Wally watched the younger of the two nod with a serious and intense expression. He knew they were telling the truth. Wally let the assassin and the five year old apparently named Damian to calm him down from his breakdown. As soon as he was thinking rationally again Wally decided that the name Damian suited the ill-tempered brat and couldn’t image the kid’s name being anything else now that he knew. Wally eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Traught?” The assassin smirked.

“As in the opposite of distraught.” Yep, this was definitely _that_ assassin. Wally took a deep breath and looked at the assassin.

“You didn’t say how you figured it out.” Even though they had promised the information of his identity was safe with them Wally needed to know how they knew. He needed to know whether he screwed up somewhere to cause them to figure it out or if they found out from something or someone else.

The assassin looked sympathetic as he answered, “I heard the Martian girl say your name as I was leaving that day. From there it was simple enough to find you. You’re the only Wally with red hair in Central City. After I had your identity it was simple figuring out who the Flash was. I wouldn’t have been able to find you if I hadn’t known your first name, though. You may want to tell the others on your team to watch what they say out in the field. The next to hear such a slip may have plans much more nefarious than making you take them to the fair.” The assassin smiled as he finished. It was a genuine and kind smile Wally couldn’t help but think it should feel out of place on someone of his lifestyle. Yet, Wally found that something about the assassin with that smile on his face felt right. The assassin’s last words reminded Wally why the two boys had kidnapped him and the speedster found himself thinking that it wouldn’t be so bad taking them to the fair. He had heard about the fair in town at school but hadn’t had the chance to go check it out and he figured having someone to go with beat going alone even if his company had kidnapped him from his bed. Decision made, Wally turned to speak with his kidnappers.

“If you promise to pay for my food I’m in.” Both boys lit up at his answer. It was a very interesting sight. The assassin looked how any excited kid his age would look while Damian tried and failed to not look excited which just made him look absolutely adorable. The assassin took out a knife with a canary yellow hilt and began to cut through the restraints. While the assassin was cutting him free Wally realized some very important.

“Hey, what should I call you? You never told me what your name was and I can’t just call you ‘the assassin’ in public.” The assassin grinned.

“I’d rather keep my real identity to myself but you can call me by the name I use for my work. Call me Robin.” Robin. Wally felt it suited him.

֍֎֍֎

Getting to the fair was quite the experience. Wally was blindfolded as Robin drove them around for a while until Wally would not have been able to find the shack they had started from. He figured that going by the security measures they were taking and that it had looked like someone was living in the shack it probably meant that the boys were staying there which bothered Wally. Wally logically knew it shouldn’t have. Robin at the very least was technically a bad guy but Wally also felt it was no place for two young boys to live. Before he could think any more on that subject the three of them arrived at the fair. After they exited the car Robin gave Wally his com, cellphone and house keys. Wally guessed that Robin had grabbed his stuff when they had kidnapped him.

“You’re giving me back my means of communication? What if I decide to call for someone to come arrest you?” Wally cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth. _Nice going idiot. You might as well ask them to take his com and phone right back._

Robin just looked amused and said, “I don’t think you will because you want to go to the fair with us. Am I wrong?” He looked just a bit smug and Wally blushed with embarrassment.

“No, you’re right” Robin smiled.

“Then it’s better you have them in case someone tries to contact you. That way we can enjoy the day without fear one of your fellow heroes will crash our fun just because they couldn’t contact you.” Wally figured that made sense. It wasn’t like he was here against his will. Not anymore at least. Wally smiled at Robin.

“That’s a good point. Actually, I should probably text my parents about where I am so they don’t worry too much.”

“-tt- Are you two finished yet? I want to see what Robin finds so great about going to the fair.” Damian complained just after Wally pressed send on the text to his parents. Robin laughed and ruffled Damian’s hair as he teased his little brother for being so impatient. They headed towards the fairground entrance.

True to their word Robin payed for the tickets and any food Wally asked him to buy. It was a good fair with many different rides and games. There was even a Ferris wheel. They started out by just riding the rides. They stuck to only going on the rides Damian was tall enough to go on. Robin sheer glee in spending the day at the fair it was practically contagious. Even Damian couldn’t keep up his preferred decorum the entire time. Wally decided it was a little disconcerting seeing Damian look so much like a normal kid but decided that the look it put on Robin’s face was more than worth it. Seeing Damian act so much like a normal kid made Robin look so genuinely _happy_ that Wally found himself truly understanding what drove Robin to kidnap Wally for this. Wally guessed that Damian was probably the only person that was truly important to Robin. Wally doubted that the two boys would have voluntarily lived in that shack if they had someone else to take them in. He soon had no time to dwell as his companions dragged him into having fun with them. Wally found their experience on the carousal the most memorable as Robin showed off his acrobatics on the ride without any of the staff noticing. None of them could deny that the petting zoo was Damian’s favorite. Both Robin and Wally thought that Damian happily playing with the various animals was one of the most adorable things they’d ever seen. Wally saw Robin taking pictures of Damian with the animals using a digital camera. As they were about to leave the petting zoo Wally acted on impulse and got a stranger to take a picture of the three of them with one of the lambs. Wally and Robin then thanked the stranger and the three of them moved onto the fair games.

Robin immediately dragged them to a booth that offered plushie versions of the members of the Justice League as prizes. The plushies came in three sizes: small, standard and huge. The standard sized plushies were the ideal size for sleeping with. The game was one where you had to knock over a large stack of cups with a ball. As they approached the man running the booth came over to them and explained the rules.

“Five dollars gets you three balls to knock over the cups. If you get all the cups in only three tries you get one small prize. Make in two shots and get a choice of one medium prize or two small prizes. And if you make it in just one shot you get a choice of one big prize, two medium prizes or three small prizes. So, do you want to take a shot?” Robin immediately handed over five dollars and took the ball he was given. He smirked as he threw his first ball and knocked all the cups down in one shot. Robin picked out two medium prizes and had the man give him one of the Batman plushies and one of the Flash plushies. Robin gave the Batman plushie to Damian who looked at it like it was the most valuable thing he’d ever been given. Damian was happy to finally have some representation of his Father. Robin knew what it would mean to Damian when he gave the plushie to him. Robin then handed the Flash plushie to Wally.

“Dude! Why are you giving me a stuffed toy?” Robin smirked.

“I figured it would go with the rest of the Flash stuff in your room and that you might like a souvenir to remember today with. You always seem to take a souvenir after each mission your team goes on.” Wally groaned that stuffed animals were for girls and little kids. At Wally’s reaction Damian became deviously contemplative. While Wally failed to notice Damian’s plotting, Robin not only noticed but decided to not warn Wally. He was curious as to what Damian had in mind.

Damian dragged them over to a stall that offered a bunch of different bird plushies as prizes. The stall itself contained a large pool of water with a bunch of different colored plastic eggs floating around in a circle. There were nets on the booth’s counter. The woman manning the stall came over and explained the rules.

“The eggs floating in the water each contain a different colored stone. You use the net to catch an egg and the color of the stone inside determines your prize. Three dollars lets allows you to catch one egg. Would you like to play?” Damian handed over three dollars and grabbed a net. He caught a gray speckled egg that kind of resembled the egg of a blue jay. The woman opened the egg to reveal a gray colored stone.

“Oh, what bad luck! Gray means no prize. Would you like to try again?” A determined Damian scowled as he handed her another three and went to net another egg. The woman was a little taken aback by Damian’s expression so Robin swiftly apologized on his brother’s behalf and reassured her that he’s always like that. Robin’s charm was enough to put her back at ease. Wally had the feeling Robin had done this many times before. Meanwhile, Damian netted his second egg. This one was painted a robin eggshell blue. The woman opened up the egg and took out a gold colored stone.

“Looks like your luck’s completely turned around! Gold means you get to pick any prize you want.” Damian smirked in vicious satisfaction and pointed at a robin plushie about the same size as their Justice League plushies. The lady was slightly disturbed by the five year old’s expression but nonetheless retrieved the stuffed robin and handed it to Damian. Damian then shoved the toy at Wally catching the speedster off guard.

“Why are you giving me that?” Damian glared at him. Wally thought it looked like the infamous Bat glare.

“-tt- If Robin gets to give you a souvenir then so do I.” The logic and petulance in the statement was so stereotypical of a jealous spoilt five year old Wally couldn’t stop himself from laughing. This made Damian give him an even stronger Bat glare. Wally swore that Damian’s Batman plushie was also Bat glaring at him. Robin watched the speedster’s predicament with amusement and mirth. With no other course of action available Wally conceded defeat and accepted the plushie.

“Thank you very much for the gift Damian.” Wally smiled and ruffled Damian’s hair which made Damian blush. The five year immediately started to try and look dignified but only came off as adorably ruffled. Robin discreetly took a picture of the moment. He’d been taking stealth pictures like that since they first arrived. Robin planned on putting the pictures in a small album for him a Damian. He figured they hardly ever got to do things like this so they needed all the reminders they could get.

After the egg booth the three boys took some time to walk around the different game booths looking for something interesting. They walked until Wally noticed Robin’s eyes catch on something. Wally followed his gaze to a group of gray elephant plushies about the same size as the prizes they’d already won. The elephants were being offered as prizes at one of those booths where you shoot a stream of water at a target with the first person to fill their chamber getting a prize. Wally recognized Robin’s expression of sorrowful remembrance from many of the people the speedster had helped as Kid Flash. He knew Robin was remembering something he had lost long ago and missed dearly. Wally made a beeline for the stand and payed the eight dollar entry fee to participate out of his own pocket. Wally approached the game with all the seriousness of a mission because he knew this was _important_ even if the why was unknown to him. His competition of a couple average civilians stood no chance. He won the game and took one of the elephant plushies as his prize. He went back over to Robin and held the elephant out to him. He couldn’t quite read Robin’s expression.

“You don’t have to give that to me. You won it with your money.” Wally gave him a look.

“You didn’t have to give me the Flash plushie that you won with _your_ money when we only agreed on tickets and food. It’s the least I can do.” Robin shook his head.

“You still don’t have to.” Wally sighed.

“Dude, I want to give it to you. Just take it already.” Robin had once told Damian of the stuffed elephant Zitka that Mary Grayson had once given him so Damian knew exactly how important this gesture was to Robin. He could tell West knew it was important too even if the speedster lacked the information to comprehend the why. When Robin still made no move to take the plushie Damian decided to intervene.

“-tt- West owes you for saving his life. This is the least he can do in recompense to start clearing his debt.” Wally ran with Damian’s reasoning.

“Damian’s got a point, Rob. I owe you so that means you have to take it.” Wally smiled encouragingly at Robin. Robin slowly took the elephant plushie from Wally and held it tight once it was in his arms. Robin knew that Wally had figured out somehow that the elephant was important to him although he was comfortably sure the speedster had no idea why. Robin decided it was probably some kind of hero instincts or something and put it out of mind.

“Thank you, Wally.” For a split second there was so much pure emotion in Robin’s eyes that Wally couldn’t even try to identify what the young boy was feeling. Then it was gone as if had never been there at all. Robin was now back to his energetic bouncy self. He turned to face both Wally and Damian so he could speak to both of them.

“Alright, we just have the Ferris wheel left before we go. I promise you’ll love it Dami. Ferris wheels are totally asterous.” Damian looked a bit excited at Robin’s promise and Wally followed along. The three boys entered one of the passenger cars when it was their turn and looked out the window. Both Damian and Robin were obviously relaxed by their height off of the ground. Wally himself found that the sight of his city from their height felt special somehow. Looking out over _his_ city made him feel the weight of his role as Kid Flash and for the first time that did not make him worry about his inadequacies compared to Uncle Barry. Even if he were to always be slower than his Uncle Barry nothing could take away the fact that the city was still _his_ to protect. Wally definitely agreed with Robin that the Ferris wheel was asterous. The Ferris wheel stopped when they were half way up and Wally turned to look at Robin. Robin was watching his brother look out at the city below. The five year old had a fascinated expression on his face as he surveyed the city and they weren’t even at the top yet. In the silence Wally remembered something about their first meeting that he hadn’t been able to get out of his head since that mission.

“Why did you save me the first time we met?” Robin was visibly unsettled by the question. Wally was about to tell Robin he didn’t need to answer when Robin did.

“I don’t know.” There was something, some sense of familiarity, about the red headed speedster that made it easy to open up to him. The bright smiles and open kindness reminded him of the safety of home, of flying and knowing there was always someone to catch him. The only people he’d ever met that were as bright as Wally were Haly’s and the mental association there was just enough for Robin to admit something he’s desperately needed to talk to someone, _anyone_ , about but never could for fear of the consequences he’d incur.

There was a long silence before Robin spoke again, the sound of his voice barely above the volume of a whisper.

“I think I just didn’t want to watch anyone die.” Only Robin and Damian heard the unspoken ‘again’ at the end of that statement. Wally looked confused.

“But you’re an assassin. Why would death bother you? Isn’t killing people your job?” Robin gave a heavy sigh as Wally watched his reactions attentively. This was the first time Wally had seen Robin look so pained and serious. Neither of the older boys had noticed Damian watching them both very closely.

“I know it’s my job and that someday I’ll be expected to kill, but I haven’t actually killed anyone yet.” There was something almost dead about Robin’s voice that bothered both Wally and Damian. Wally was stunned that Robin had never killed despite being an assassin. Damian was surprised Robin was willing to talk about this with someone who wasn’t him.

“I hate death. I don’t want to kill.” Even now a part of him still believed he’d be no better than his parents’ killer once he took that step but Robin knew that he’d be able to do it for Damian. Everything he’d done and dealt with in the past five years, it had all been for Damian’s sake. Talia had made Robin that way.

Wally looked at Robin thoughtfully.

“If you don’t want to kill then why did you become an _assassin_?” Robin’s eyes filled with anger and something else almost like fear at the question. He felt cornered. That question was _personal_ and Wally had no idea the things he was asking Robin to admit, things Robin wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ , voice. He’d have to actually judge his choice back when he was a small, scared eight year old boy in Gotham’s juvenile detention center and offered a way _out_.

The worst part was he didn’t know how he would judge himself if he did. If he thought it the right choice or a mistake. It was just safer to avoid thinking of it at all and easier to simply think of his discomfort with death as a flaw to be excised.

The Ferris wheel began to move again.

“Why did you become a hero?”

“Because I idolized the Flash and wanted to be just like him even before I learned he was my Uncle. You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?” Robin was very good at looking innocent. If Wally didn’t know better he might have believed Robin was being completely truthful. But he did know better and that emotion that was like fear but not was still in Robin’s eyes.

“Why are you a—”

“Because I don’t remember a question.”

“I was about to repeat it.”

“Were you?”

“Yes I—” A frustrated Wally finally noticed the way Robin was surreptitiously glancing at Damian every so often. He knew then that Damian was part of the answer to his question. How the admittedly scary five year old had anything to do with why Robin chose the path he did Wally had no idea but he knew he was right. He also recognized that emotion now.

It was desperation.

More importantly, Wally knew if he didn’t immediately change the subject the look Damian was sending him promised that the five year old was going to gut him right there in the passenger car and Wally did have a sense of self preservation. He turned his head to look out the window at Central City.

“The city looks different from up here. Feels different, too.” Robin looked at him in gratitude once he let the question drop. After that it took no time at all for Robin to get back to the energetic Robin he’d been for most of the day. They talked about nothing important, mostly just Wally’s school life, until their passenger car finally stopped at the top. The three boys looked out over Central City in a comfortable silence. In that moment none of them had any need for words. The sun was just beginning to set painting a magnificent view of the city at sunset. The three of them all felt a feeling of home at the sight. Robin hoped they could stay in this city for a while. It was nice. Robin grabbed his camera and took a picture of the view. That way even when they left they’d still always have this part of the city with them.

None of them talked until they had gotten off the Ferris wheel. They walked back to the parking lot as it was starting to grow dark. Wally started towards their car but was stopped by a slightly confused Robin.

“I thought you would prefer to run home?” Wally responded by blushing in mild embarrassment at forgetting about the present situation.

“Good point.” As Wally turned to leave a thought occurred to him and before he could think on whether or not it was a bad idea Wally turned and spoke to Robin and Damian.

“Hey! I had a lot of fun today. Do you think you’d like to hang out like this again sometime?” Both Robin and Damian tensed at the question and Wally realized that asking an assassin and his scary Bat-like little brother to be his friends was probably not one of his better ideas. Wally started to feel very nervous.

Robin and Damian were shocked by what Wally had just asked. The speedster seemed sincere in his offer and neither boy could truly quite register what Wally’s question implied because it had to be a mistake. This kind of thing did not happen to them. It was one of the first things they learned from Talia. Wally couldn’t have really meant what his question implied.

Robin was the first to find his voice again and so was the one who asked aloud the question that was running through both his and Damian’s minds.

“Are you asking to be friends? With us?” Robin held his elephant tight. What if Wally really had meant _that_?

_In for a penny in for a pound_. Wally braced himself before he answered with pure earnest sincerity.

“Yes, I’m asking both of you to be my friends. If you want to that is.” Wally blushed in his extreme nervousness. He hadn’t been expecting to like spending time with Robin and Damian as much as he did and he really did want to be friends with them. He hoped they felt the same. He wanted them to like him, too.

“We accept.” Damian’s answer was short, clipped and awkward. Both boys were tense and Wally had no idea what was bothering them this time. Robin was the next to speak awkwardly.

“Looks like we’ll be seeing each other again Wally. Make sure to stay asterous.” Wally laughed at Robin’s last words before the assassin and his brother got in the car and drove off. It occurred to Wally that Robin had almost definitely stolen that car. Wally was happy and excited that Robin and Damian accepted his friendship. He took a moment to collect himself before he started the run home. As Wally ran home he had a brief moment where he was worried over how they’d get in touch again but then he remembered that Robin and Damian had kidnapped him from his room so it wasn’t like they didn’t know where he lived. Wally just had to trust Robin meant it when he had said they’d see each other again.

֍֎֍֎

Robin and Damian were settling down into their shared bed with their new plushies in hand. On a nearby table were two small yet thick books with plastic pages and the same title scrawled on their covers in the same neat practiced handwriting. One of the books was a bright canary yellow. The other was the same bright red as the Flash’s suit. Damian held the plush imitation of his father and Robin held the elephant that he had promptly named Zitka the Second.

Neither boy could quite believe they had made a friend. People like them did not make friends. Talia had made that very clear. Damian was too important for him to waste his time on peasants and Robin belonged to Damian. Beyond family they were only ever supposed to have each other to trust and rely on. No one else.

She had taught them to accept that they would always be alone save for each other.

But now they had a friend.

They had Wally.

Which meant Talia had been _wrong_.

Damian looked up at Robin and asked, “Do you think we could train with West sometime?” Damian’s life practically revolved around training. Damian asking to train with Wally was the equivalent of Damian admitting Wally was important to him. Robin smiled at his little brother.

“Of course you can, Dami. I promise I’ll make it happen.”

֍֎֍֎

The next day at the mountain Wally knew he needed to bring up the issue of only using hero name when they were out in the field. I was too easy to find his secret identity from just his first name. He just hoped his request wouldn’t seem too odd to any of his teammates. He walked into the main living area to see M’gann, Kaldur and Batgirl.

He really hoped Babs didn’t find this suspicious.

Batgirl had been the first kid sidekick and Wally had met her not long after he’d became a sidekick himself. She had introduced him to Roy and the three of them became fast friends. If anyone was going to deduce that he was hiding something it would be her.

“Hey Megalicious. Can I talk to you for a second?” M’gann turned towards him and answered cheerfully.

“Sure Wally. What did you need?” Wally shifted nervously before starting.

“I was just thinking about some of our past missions when I remembered that during that mission with the Fog there was a moment where you called me Wally. Out loud. Loudly. Where any one could have heard it.” M’gann looked confused.

“And?” Wally sighed.

“Megan, everyone knows Kid Flash is a red head which is, like, the least common hair color among humans. And Wally isn’t exactly a common name, either. The amount of red heads named Wally my age in Central City is bound to be an absurdly low number.”

“In fact there’s only one.” Wally, M’gann, and Kaldur turned to look at Batgirl who had just spoken.

“There is exactly one Wally with red hair in Central City regardless of age.” Wally began looking more nervous.

“Right, and once they had me figured out it would only be a matter of time before they found out Uncle Barry is the Flash and used our identities against us.” M’gann had a look of comprehension.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to put you in danger Wally I swear!” M’gann looked very distressed at the idea that her actions could have hurt Wally. Wally laughed off her apology.

“I know you didn’t Beautiful and I don’t think any damage was done this time. I just wanted to bring it up for, you know, future missions.” Kaldur nodded at Wally’s statement.

“That is, surprisingly wise of you Wally. I will make sure that the team takes such things into consideration from now on.” Wally smiled before he waved and left. He was followed out by Batgirl.

“So, Wally, where’s this new security consciousness coming from?” Wally stiffened at Batgirl’s question.

“Nothing really. It just came to me.” Batgirl knew he was lying. Batgirl raised an eyebrow.

“It just came to you, huh.” Batgirl smiled. Her friend was a really bad liar. It was one of his more endearing qualities.

“Yes!” Wally flinched at how defensive he sounded. Batgirl smiled knowingly.

“Of course it did, Wally.” Batgirl left and headed for the cave’s zeta tube. She always enjoyed a good investigation, especially into secrets her friends were keeping from her.

 Roy and Wally had never been able to hide anything from Babs. Whenever they tried she’d investigate until she discovered whatever secret they were trying to keep. Wally suspected her pride as a Bat and detective’s daughter made her need to know everything about them. Wally sighed.

“I was afraid this would happen.”

֍֎֍֎

It was a few days after he’d gone to the fair with Robin and Damian when Wally entered his room and saw it. On his bed was a small yet thick canary yellow book filled with plastic pages. Its cover read ‘Day at the Fair’ in neat practiced handwriting. Wally opened it and found it full of pictures containing Robin, Damian and him from their day at the fair together. His eyes landed on the picture he’d asked a stranger to take of the three of them. Wally’s arm was around Robin and Damian was hugging a lamb as all three of them looked at the camera. Wally and Robin were both sporting huge smiles while Damian was giving the camera an impressive Bat glare. Wally smiled and had begun to close the photo album when the picture on the inside of the cover caught his eye. It was a picture of Central City from above at sunset, the same scene as the one they saw at the top of the Ferris wheel.

It was the perfect picture of his city.

_Robin must have taken this picture while we were stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel._ Wanting a closer look at the photo Wally started taking it out of the photo album. As he did so he found that there were four extra copies of the photo inside the protective plastic slot in the photo album’s cover. A quick inspection showed that the rest of the pictures only had one extra copy. Wally took out one of the photos of the city before he closed the photo album which he then put inside one of the nightstands next to his bed, the one that had a lamp sitting on it. He then pinned the photo right next to the Flash poster above his bed. Just as he had finished Wally heard his door open as his Uncle Barry entered his room.

Barry immediately noticed the picture and said, “That’s a really good view of the city, kiddo. Where’d you get it?”

Wally answered, “A few days ago I went to the fair with a couple friends and we went on the Ferris wheel. Rob took a picture of the view while we were at the top and sent me a copy. It only just arrived today.” His uncle looked curious at the unfamiliar name.

Barry asked, “I don’t think you’ve told me about Rob before. Is he around your age?” Wally had the tendency to make friends with anyone who’d let him. Even as Wally’s open friendliness and caring nature made Barry proud of his nephew some of the people Wally made friends with made Barry concerned for the younger speedster’s safety. He remembered how frantic he had been when he had found out that Wally had befriended the Rogues.

“Rob’s younger than I am and his brother Damian is only five years old. They needed someone older to take them because their parents were too busy that day and I had time free. We had a lot of fun.” Barry was comforted by the answer. This Rob couldn’t be too dangerous if he was younger than Wally.

Wally felt a little guilty at the half-truth he had just told Uncle Barry but he didn’t think his uncle would react well if Wally told him Rob was an assassin and had kidnapped Wally from his room. He remembered how overprotective Barry had been when he found out about Uncle Len and the rest of the Rogues.

“I’m glad you had—is that a Flash plushie?” Wally forgot his guilt as Uncle Barry’s discovery caused Wally to blush in embarrassment.

“Uh, yeah. There were a bunch of game booths with prizes there and one of them had plushies of all the members of the Justice League as prizes. Rob wanted to win a Batman plushie for Damian but did well enough to win an extra prize. Rob knows I’m a Flash fan so he chose a Flash plushie for his second prize and gave it to me.” Barry laughed at the thought of a plushie Batman. He wished he had one himself so he could show Bats and see his reaction to his plushie counterpart.

Barry held up the robin plushie. “And what about this one? You’ve never told me about having an interest in robins.”

“I think Damian was jealous his brother got me a gift when he hadn’t so he dragged us over to another booth where he won me that. Rob is short for Robin so Damian probably picked the robin plushie out because of the association there.” Barry ruffled his nephew’s hair.

“Well, as much as I’d love to keep hearing about Rob and Damian, right now the Flash needs his partner Kid Flash to go on patrol with him.” Wally became excited at the thought of going on patrol.

“Just give me a moment to get ready Uncle Barry.” Wally spared one final thought for his new friends before putting on the Kid Flash suit. Even if Wally never saw Robin and Damian again at least the young speedster had a few things to remember them by. Turning his focus back on his responsibilities the young speedster was soon suited up and left to patrol with his mentor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like how this chapter turned out even if it took so much time to write and revise (and edit and revise, multiple times). It’s my favorite chapter of the story thus far. Hopefully everyone is as in character as they can be. Obviously Robin is going to have a few differences due to the different backstory. It was interesting juggling the three POVs of Wally, Robin and Damian during the parts at the fair. I hope it came across okay and wasn’t too confusing. I normally like to put line breaks between POV shifts, like I did in the earlier scene with Robin and Damian on the train, but I thought that would be a bit impractical during the long fair sequence with how often it shifts. I have a feeling a lot of the story will be like the fair scene when it comes to dealing the characters’ POVs so I hope it worked as it’s pretty certainly coming back. I thought it turned out good, anyway. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to something like a fair so I didn’t really know what kind of rides would be appropriate. I do have clear memories of fair and carnival games, however, and drew from those for that section. The cups and water shooting carnival games are all ones I’ve encountered myself, although I completely made up the prices and prize scaling. The egg one I based on something a lot like it involving rubber ducks floating around in the water. The duck game works basically the same except the color is on the bottom of the duck and you pick it up with your hand. I just changed the ducks to eggs because it would fit the theme of a booth with all bird plushie prizes.
> 
> So, one of the major differences here is that with Robin’s absence from the hero game a young Barbara Gordon becomes the first kid sidekick, Batgirl. I hope I did her justice even though she was only in one small scene. I felt she was the best choice for filling Dick’s role on the original team since Dick was unavailable for the role of the resident team Bat & Hacker. I had first thought about making Artemis a Bat instead of an Arrow but that still left the team a vital member down and it would completely change Artemis’ character which I didn’t want to do. Babs is shown to be at least around Dick’s age if not older and her character canonically has mostly the same skillset (even if their proficiency at said skills differs at points) so it just made sense to use her for the role. If anyone’s interested in me covering how she became Batman’s first sidekick in this verse the story is going to be fueled by requests for a long while and I wouldn’t mind giving her some screen time. She will be one of the more important characters of the story. I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with her character just yet beyond a few vague ideas. I’d also feel open to bringing in other members of the team but beyond Artemis I don’t have any ideas on how to do that. As always, all feedback is welcome and I’m open to suggestions/requests for future chapters.


End file.
